Grant ID DP140031
Awarded On May 21, 2014
Title Pre-IND Development, Phase I Clinical Trials, & Predictive Biomarker Evaluation, for Engineered Human Arginase Targeting the Metabolic Vulnerability of Tumors
Program Product Development Research
Award Mechanism Established Company
Institution/Organization Aeglea Biotherapeutics, Inc.
Principal Investigator/Program Director James Wooldridge
Cancer Sites Bladder, Brain and Other Nervous System, Gallbladder, Head and Neck, Kidney and Renal Pelvis, Leukemia, Liver and Intrahepatic Bile Duct, Lymphoma, Melanoma, Myeloma, Pancreas, Prostate, Sarcoma
Contracted Amount $19,806,145
Lay Summary

The mission of AERase, Inc. a recently established biopharmaceutical company located in Austin, TX, is to develop novel cancer treatments by exploiting the unique metabolism of cancer cells. Cancer cells, unlike normal cells, lack the ability to make certain amino acids (AA), the building blocks of proteins. Efforts have been made to exploit this vulnerability, seen in many different cancers, by depriving tumors of key AA using naturally occurring compounds. The use of these compounds has been complicated by poor activity, (human-derived drugs) and by the development of immune reactions, (microbe-derived drugs); nonetheless, tumor shrinkage has been seen in several different cancer types, such...

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